Kids Brain Health Network (KBHN) and the University of Calgary’s Disability Policy Research Program (DiPo) have named four ADVANCE Network Fellows to lead an initiative for improving disability programs and policies across Canada.

The Fellows—Kelsey Seguin, Dr. Laura Mudde, Meaghan Reitzel and Dr. Sarah Raza—will collaborate to build on an existing disability policy report, add more comprehensive information about the programs, and compare findings across Canadian provinces and territories.

Together, they are laying the critical groundwork for the ADVANCE (Alliance for Disability Voices, Advocacy, and National Community Empowerment) Network.

“Their findings will serve as a foundation for actionable policy transformation that is inclusive, participatory, and rooted in the lived experiences of youth and young adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families,” said Sharon McCarry, ADVANCE Network co-lead.

For Kelsey Seguin, a PhD student at the University of Ottawa, the Fellowship is both a professional opportunity and a personal mission. “This award means great significance to me as an individual with disability striving to share my experiences to make the world a more equitable and accessible place.”

Kelsey, who lives with cerebral palsy, brings a unique perspective to the disability policy landscape. She has previously contributed to policy research at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and serves as a member of the KBHN-CHILD-BRIGHT National Youth Advisory Council. Her academic work explores family experiences in the context of disability.

Working from British Columbia’s Okanagan region, Dr. Laura Mudde offers another lens on lived experience. A neurodiverse woman and policy scholar, she has long worked at the intersection of disability justice and inclusive systems design.

“I look forward to the collaboration with community partners, people with lived and living experience, and other researchers to help improve access to and mobilize knowledge about disability policy in Canada,” she said.

Mudde’s recent work has focused on individualized funding models, aiming to demystify how people with disabilities and their support systems learn about and navigate funding landscapes.

Meaghan Reitzel brings nearly a decade of hands-on experience as a pediatric occupational therapist. Now a PhD candidate at McMaster University, she’s devoted her research to understanding how children’s rehabilitation services are designed and how they could be reimagined.

“The ADVANCE fellowship is an incredible opportunity to collaborate with communities and researchers across Canada to drive meaningful policy change aimed at improving access to disability supports and programs,” said Meaghan. “I’m excited to contribute to more equitable disability supports for neurodiverse youth and their families through community-engaged and inclusive research.”

Dr. Sarah Raza brings both clinical and policy acumen to her role. Her academic background in neuroscience and pediatrics is complemented by postdoctoral experience in Canadian science policy, including roles with Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada. She currently serves as a policy analyst with Employment and Social Development Canada, contributing to the implementation of the Accessible Canada Act.

For Sarah, the Fellowship is more than a professional milestone. “It’s a personal opportunity to align my passion for disability advocacy with meaningful, systems-level change,” she said. “Committed to advancing accessibility, equity, and care for neurodiverse individuals and their families, I’m eager to contribute to real-world solutions.”

Over the year, each Fellow will focus their work on one of four geographic regions in Canada: Western (British Columbia, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories), Prairies (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba), Central (Ontario, Quebec, and Nunavut), and Atlantic (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador).

The regional structure enables Fellows to tailor their research to the specific policy landscapes and community contexts within each area, while working collaboratively to identify national trends, gaps, and opportunities for change.

The ADVANCE Fellowship is a joint initiative of Kids Brain Health Network (KBHN) and the Disability Policy Research Program (DiPo) at the University of Calgary, supporting early-career researchers who work to improve disability policy through participatory research and community-led solutions.

“This fellowship empowers emerging leaders to bridge research, policy, and lived experience in a way that few programs do,” said Dr. Jennifer Zwicker, Chief Scientist at KBHN and co-lead of the ADVANCE Network.

“The Fellows bring an incredible range of expertise—from clinical practice to policy analysis to lived experience—which uniquely positions them to identify gaps and co-create solutions. By grounding their work in community priorities, they have the potential to drive real, lasting change in how disability supports are delivered across Canada.”

The Fellows are part of the ADVANCE Network, a national collaboration of scholars, community partners, and people with lived and living experience, co-led by Dr. Jennifer Zwicker, Dr. Lucy Lach, Dr. Keiko Shikako, and Sharon McCarry. The ADVANCE Network aims to drive meaningful change for neurodiverse youth and their families across Canada.